The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I'd be interested in knowing how other builders treat the undersides of their decks. In the past I've only brushed a couple coats of varnish on the installed deck. Is that enough? Does anyone seal with epoxy? This subject is not talked about much. Just interested.

Like Rick said and then some. Buy a roll of 60 or 80 grit sand paper that you can peel the back off and stick to blocks, sticks, pop bottles, about anything. A detail sander will get you in closer than a ROS but not real effective. I've always said that "If you don't like sanding more than sex ...

Glen,

That's an interesting pattern in your caning. Nice looking seat!

Randy,

I always use a 4 inch foam brush to tip off all of the fill coats. I pretty much do exactly what Rod suggests for everything else. The only epoxy I've ever used is West. Good luck this weekend.

Moonman, Years ago I used alot of basswood for carving fish and ducks but don't think it would be a good choice for outwalls or inwalls for that matter. I've used sitka spruce on two boats with good results but that was pushing it.

How high up from the bottom of my Rob Roy can I mount a seat and still maintain stability? I plan to epoxy a riser on each side of the canoe and screw a standard style seat to the risers. A combination thwart/backrest will be attached to the inwalls. Thanks for any help.

Does anyone use flotation bags in their canoe? The recent threads on canoe boyancy got me to thinking I may want these in my Hiawatha and Bob's Special. Google gave me many sites for these bags but I'd rather get some advice from experienced paddlers. I attempted two waterproof bulkheads on a Wee La...

Nice looking Rob Roy Hammer! I just pulled my Rob off the mold yesterday and scraped and sanded the interior today. I'd be interested in knowing how you finished your interior. I can't seem to find much info on things like seat placement, how high up from the bottom, deck ideas, ect. Thanks for any ...

Bob,

I use the same method as Michael just described. That method has worked fine on a Hiawatha and a Bob's Special however It did not work on a Rob Roy. This canoe needed the first strip to follow the baseline. Always best to temporary attach the strip and stand back and view it from all angles.

Has anyone built a Rob Roy lately? I'd be interested in knowing where you positioned the first strip. If I follow the waterline the strip finishes half way up the inner stem leaving alot of fill area to the sheer. If I clamp the strip to the three middle stations at the sheer ,and work out towards t...

I'm with Rod and Seven. I have a 5 inch and 6 inch Porter Cable. The 6 inch came as a kit with a long hose which also fits the dust port on my 5 inch. I would rate durability, cost, and dust collection capability all excellent.

Glen's idea of heating the screw up and twisting it out with vice grips worked great! The broken screw near the keel was easy to get a grip on by removing the wood around it. That area of the stem had to be planed down anyway to fair it to the hull. The other screw I decided to leave in because it w...

Two of the eight steel screws holding my outer stems on after epoxy have broken right at the head. The screws were waxed but not enough I guess. One screw is near the keel and the other half way between the keel and the sheer. Anybody had any success extracting a broken screw? How did you do it? Tha...

Fingerle Lumber Co. in Ann Arbor has an excellent supple of WRC. I've ordered 16 and 17 foot boards and I think they have some even longer. Joe Eadie is the one to talk to at 1-800-365-7701. In Traverse City try Rare Earth Lumber. I don't have a number for them but they do have a web site. Never bou...

Thanks to everyone for your input. Jeff, that was some good technical advice. I think I'll stick with a proven brand at least on the two canoes I'm building this winter.